Over the last couple of days we have biked, hiked, swam and birdwatched.

Tuesday Brian and I walked through Jelks Park to the Myakka River. On our way back we observed an armadillo, a mockingbird and a red bellied woodpecker. Though the air was still a little cool by Floridian standards and the skies were a little grey we went to the hot tub for a soak. It was relaxing and we had some good laughs.

Wednesday was a leisurely bike ride on the Legacy and Venetian Waterway trails. The two trails connect at the historic Venice train depot, where we parked. We first rode the Waterway trail and then the Legacy trail.

On our way home we stopped at the Venice Audubon Rookery known internationally to bird photographers. The Rookery island’s deep lake is small enough that we hardly needed binoculars for a clear view of the birds and we could easily walk around the edge of the lake and watch bird activity on all sides of the island.

Being a nesting month, we were able to see Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Anhingas and Snowy Egrets busily building or enhancing their nests, courting and incubating their eggs. It was quite fascinating to see those large birds in trees.

Yesterday we drove north to the Balm Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve. The preserve is best known for its 25 miles of mountain biking trails which provide something for everyone from novice to expert riders. While the preserve consists of abandoned phosphate pits, we rode through large areas of undisturbed scrub habitat including sand pine scrub, xeric oak scrub, pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks, wet prairie, freshwater marshes, cypress swamps, and hardwood swamps. We started on the easy trails, transitioning onto some harder trails, where we walked some of the ups and downs, and then back onto the easy trails to bring us back to the parking lot.

Back at the car we set the bbq up in the pavilion area and grilled up our lunch of cheddar cheese dogs – yum.

We finished up our last day in Florida with a swim in the pool, a hot tub, steak dinner and the last episode of Ozark. It was definitely a trip where memories were made. Thanks Pam and Gary.